Rotted Tomatoes
by Suleyk
Summary: Uzumaki Kushina is a sad and broken woman, overcome by grief after watching her husband sacrifice himself to save his village. She's a hollow being, a mere shadow of the Kunoichi that struck fear into the hearts of both men and women, barely able to care for herself. But that doesn't stop me from loving her with all of my heart. (Fem!Naruto, Fem!Sasuke)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So, I know I said I was going to post a Bleach one-shot, but I'm still trying to figure out how to wrap that one up, but in the meantime, I wrote this Naruto one-shot.

Quick note on the Japanese real quick, though. I don't speak Japanese, and I'm not going to pretend to. It makes more sense for me to use the english translations for some words, since that's the language I speak, however there are cases where I think the Japanese sounds better, honorifics, for example. This is entirely at my discretion though, and it's entirely possible that I may flip-flop between the two as I see fit.

Also, if people like this, I _might_ have a few ideas to add on to it.

* * *

Rotted Tomatos

Uzumaki Kushina is a terrible mother. It's not something I like to admit. I like to pretend she's an incredible mother, that she pays more than just few minutes of attention to me a day, that she doesn't leave the house early in the afternoon each day, and only come back far past midnight, reeking of sweat and alcohol. That she doesn't forget that children need to be nurtured with love and affection, and fed several meals a day, not just the occasional fruit or sweet to snack on when the thought crosses her mind. Most children, anyway.

It's not something I like to admit, but it doesn't make it any less true. Maybe in some other world, Uzumaki Kushina is a wonderful mother, who lovingly dotes on her daughter, granting her whatever her heart desires. But this is not that world, and such trivial thoughts are useless. In this world, the one that matters, Uzumaki Kushina is a sad and broken woman, not even a hint of the proud and indomitable Kunoichi that everybody tells me she used to be.

But I still love her. With all of my being.

I shouldn't. I know that. She doesn't deserve it. I had to grow up far too quickly under her care than any other child. I had to teach myself to cook so we wouldn't starve, keep that house clean so we wouldn't be buried under various trash and bottles of alcohol. Not to mention I had to fend for myself when it came to the irrational hatred the village had for me. Just the fact that I was capable of acknowledging this spoke volumes. No, Uzumaki Kushina could barely be described as a caretaker let alone a mother, I knew that. I think she knew it too.

She blamed me for Minato's death, I think. And I think she hated herself for blaming me, and she hated Minato for dying to seal the Fox inside me, and the Third for not taking his place, and Jiraiya and for not being there to help when the Fox escaped, and the village for not being strong enough to repel the Fox without the Fourth, and the Fox for just existing in the first place. Her life was a vicious cycle of hatred and self-loathing that left her barely able to function, let alone care for her five-year-old daughter. But that didn't stop me from smiling uncontrollably whenever she entered the room, grinning like a loon whenever she spoke more than a word or two to me, or staring longingly at her gorgeous red locks and mesmerizing violet eyes, aching for a touch, to hold her hand, to be wrapped in her embrace. I loved her desperately, and I wanted nothing more than to see her out of this depressive hole she was in, to see her smile and laugh like she did when Minato was still alive. To see her _happy_.

Minato. The Fourth Hokage. I didn't know how to feel about him. On one hand, he was my father, and probably a pretty great guy if his death sent Mom into her funk and the village to their unrestrained hatred of me, but on the other hand… his death was exactly the reason Mom was the way she was. And it wasn't an unavoidable death either, he _sacrificed_ himself to seal the Fox in me, which meant there were _other_ options that _didn't_ involve him dying and leaving Mom in a pit of depression and self-hatred. Granted, most of those options probably would have left the Leaf with a less-than-working village and may or may not have ignited the Fourth Shinobi World War, but honestly? I didn't care. I'd probably be arrested for treason for saying it, but if it meant even a chance at seeing Mommy smile a true smile? I'd give the world for it.

Of course, I wasn't supposed to know all this, no one had told me directly, but it wasn't all that difficult to figure out. The villagers weren't exactly discreet with their mutterings and harsh whispers. That, and my resemblance to the Fourth Hokage was so uncanny it's a genuine miracle no one else has noticed, despite me taking my mother's surname. Which I was extremely grateful for, by the way. Uzumaki Kushina. I absolutely loved the way her name sounded, the way it rolled off the tongue. Probably. I had never actually said it aloud before. Plus, having the surname Uzumaki made being named after a fish cake so much more bearable.

Regardless, no matter how difficult living with her was, I wouldn't have it any other way. And it wasn't like I was trapped with her either. I still had Kakashi-niisan, Jiraiya, hell even old man Teuchi. None of them quite realized what it was exactly it was like living with Mommy, but I could have very easily told any one of them one and they could have done something about it. Teuchi probably would've even been willing to take me in while Mommy got help. Except that would mean seeing even less of her than I already do, and I don't quite think I can handle that. Besides, while Leaf was better than most thanks the the Yamanaka, therapy in the Ninja world more or less boiled down to "suck it up and deal with it," and I'm not certain taking me away from Mommy wouldn't just worsen her condition, like what happened when Aunt Mikoto started distancing herself from us.

So I did what a Yamanaka would tell me to to, and sucked it up and dealt with it.

I would get up every morning and made a big breakfast, taking a plate (or bowl) up to Mommy's room. Sometimes I couldn't help but just stare at her before waking her up. She was so beautiful, even with her sunken eyes and her too-pale skin. She was skinny, too skinny, you could almost see her ribs poking out. But her hair was a gorgeous fiery mane, so silky and soft, her lips looked so pink and plump. But I couldn't keep staring or the food would get cold.

I would gently shake her awake, and it would always take a minute or two. She slept so fitfully, and it was hard to pull her back from the cusp of her nightmares. But then she would blink her pretty violet eyes awake, staring blankly at me before I gestured to the meal in my hands. From there it was a toss up. Usually, she would just stare at me lifelessly for several seconds before turning around and falling back asleep. I would sigh in disappointment, setting the food down on the nightstand next to the bed and left the room sullenly, not expecting any different, but hoping nonetheless. Occasionally, though, she would take the food from my hands, her face a blank as ever, eliciting a bright smile from me as her hands lightly brushed past mine, her skin calloused yet somehow still so soft. If I was especially lucky, she might even mutter a soft "thanks" that left me positively beaming for the rest of the day. Then I would sit and watch as she slowly ate, taking miniscule bites at a time, watching as her eyes glazed over for several minutes, lost in some unknown memory before suddenly focusing her attention back to her food, as if she only just remembered it was there and taking another tiny bite until she was done, never finishing more than half of it. Then I would take whatever was left of her food and kiss her on the cheek to let her know I still loved her (just in case she forgot.) I'd wait a moment to see if she would respond (she never did), then leave silently to clean the mess in the kitchen, along with whatever other trash managed to clutter up the house.

Afterwards, the day was mine, really. There was no telling when Mommy would get up, and she could (and often did) sneak out of the house without me knowing, no matter how much attention I paid. There was little to no entertainment to be found around the house, much less outside it, what with the villagers general avoidance of all things me. The glares and whispers never much bothered me. It was hardly worth the effort to care either way about them, and even when the occasional angry villager got a little too _physical_ , any cuts or bruises that may have turned up always healed within a few hours at most. Besides, I knew they didn't actually believe I was the Fox incarnate, not really. If they did they would never do something as stupid try and anger me.

The only thing ever really angered me, no, _infuriated_ me, was when they spoke about my Mother. I don't know _how_ , but _somehow_ it had leaked that Mommy was the Nine-tailed Fox's previous container. I was sure someone had done it on purpose. Someone high up as well, after all, they were the only ones who knew, and they kept it a secret for decades, which meant they weren't careless enough to let it slip accidentally, which meant they had done it purposefully. And I swear, when I find out who it was, I'll kill them. Because I may not give a damn when people call me "demon brat" and "devil's spawn", but if I hear so much as a single person mutter the words "demon whore" then… well. Just ask the last person who dared in my presence.

What the villagers don't realize is that whenever they see fit to push me around, I _let_ them. Because letting them is far easier than dealing with the aftermath of fighting back. And remember when I said I have the day to myself? I spend it _training._

Even if I haven't entered the academy yet, the public library is a fountain of knowledge for beginners, and it's laughably easy to sneak past the haggard, near-sighted librarian always working the desk and hide in the rows and piles of books. Just teaching myself to read proved to be the biggest hurdle, but once I had overcome that particular obstacle, I soaked in information like a sponge. Of course, none of what I learned about basic Chakra Theory or simple Katas was exactly _dangerous_ (or even accurate), not for a five-year-old. At least, not unless you were me.

You see, one of the most basic applications of chakra was to use it to enhance your body. Make it stronger, faster, more durable, and so on. Most children my age didn't have enough chakra to enhance anything, even _if_ they had the control. I, on the other hand, had a _lot_ of chakra. Of course, I couldn't just pump my arms full of chakra and lift up a mountain, not without blowing my arms off in the process. There was a technique to it, a skill the took time and practice to refine, but again, I could sort of cheat in this regard when it came to practicing.

For most, if one just carelessly threw their chakra around they could easily damage both their muscle tissue and chakra coils irreparably. But not me. Thanks to the combined forces of my Uzumaki heritage and the Demon Fox in my stomach, I could heal from almost anything short of loss of limb (and even then I wasn't sure it wouldn't just grow back.) And you know how when you break a bone, the point of fracture grows back stronger than before? That's exactly what happened to my body. As long as I kept the proper nutrients in my body, any torn tissue would stitch back tighter and stronger, any ruptured coils would be thicker and flow easier. Even when all was said and done and I'd finally more or less mastered the basics of the technique, I was never sure whether it was because I'd finally figured out how to do it correctly, or if my body simply adjusted itself accordingly.

Either way, by the end of it, I was intimately familiar with my chakra. And it was… almost intoxicating. I could, and occasionally did, spend the whole day just meditating, playing with my chakra, spinning it, folding it, twisting it. Flooding my body with chakra, pumping every inch of me with it until I felt I was about to burst then suddenly releasing it. Clamping down on my chakra network and _halting_ the flow, then pulling back on it and forcing it to flow in the opposite direction. The only thing I never touched was the Fox's chakra.

Oh, it was always there, just underneath, mixed in with my own. It's part of why my natural reserves were so large, it was constantly pressuring my coils, forcing them to grow and thicken to adapt. But that was just the infinitesimally small amount that the seal purposefully leaked to build up my resistance to the Fox's poisonous chakra, and was already so ingrained in my own that it may have well have been mine.

But if I focused deep enough into my core, I could sense it. That unfathomably vast pit of oppressive rage and hatred that made up the Fox's chakra (though, since the Fox was supposedly just a giant, sentient chakra construct, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that it _was_ the Fox.) I never really understood why people said The Nine-Tailed Fox was a force of nature until I discovered that pit. Just sensing the sheer size and scope of it compared to my own was akin to comparing a firefly to the Sun, and the pure hate and anger it radiated was almost alien (and yet still somehow so very human.) I wasn't even slightly ashamed to admit I did my very best to avoid direct contact with it at all times.

Various chakra exercises weren't the only things practiced, though. Early Academy textbooks were available to anyone in the public library, and I studied them with a fervor. As boring as subjects like Projectile Physics, Human Biology, and Poison Chemistry could be, I soaked up every bit of information I could learn, and when it come to learning the Academy Katas, I practiced them vigorously. I'd spend hours upon hours practicing at home or in the woods until I could do them exactly as the books described quickly and efficiently, even sneaking into the Academy training grounds to watch the older kids do them when I wasn't sure if I was doing it correctly.

I'd say I trained until I dropped, but that never actually happened no matter how much I worked myself. And given that I would often push myself to my limit and kept the pace up until night had fallen without me realizing, I was no longer sure if it was even possible for me to collapse from exhaustion. Sure, I worked myself to the bone, until my body ached and my skin was raw and bleeding from striking trees over and over again, but I have never actually _passed out_.

The greatest treasure trove I'd found though, was a textbook all about the Academy Three; the Transformation, Substitution, and Clone Techniques. This one wasn't actually found in the library (any and all Ninjutsu and Genjutsu was regulated with varying degrees of strictness. Even something as simple as the Academy Three wasn't normally available to the general public, though there were no real consequences if it had somehow found its way into it.) Some kid seemed to be pulling an all-nighter (probably in a last-ditch effort not to fail) at the library of all places and I took the liberty of "borrowing" the book during one of his ten-minute power naps (i.e. dozing off every so often before abruptly awakening.) The look on his face when he realized it was missing was priceless.

The Academy was actually fairly lax when it came to the written and physical portions of the graduation test. Basically, as long as your handwriting was vaguely legible and you could more or less keep us with the rest of your class, then you really only needed to worry about the Ninjutsu portion of the test, and that portion was _very_ strict. Because being a Ninja was _all_ about chakra, and if you couldn't master those three techniques, then that meant you stood virtually no chance of being even a halfway decent Ninja. Your physical scores had to be truly _exceptional_ to even stand a chance at passing if you couldn't do the Academy Three.

They also only started teaching students the Three in the final year, because, like I said before, carelessly messing with your chakra can cause irreparable damage, especially for children, whose chakra coils were still developing. If a small child, whose reserves were miniscule and control atrocious, attempted a Ninjutsu, even one as chakra intensive as the simple Clone Jutsu, they could very well die of chakra exhaustion.

So-called geniuses like Itachi and Kakashi-niisan (and Minato) instinctively used their chakra even in everyday tasks without ever first learning how, and this helped them subconsciously know exactly how much chakra to put into a technique to avoid killing themselves.

Again, I was an exception to this rule. I don't know exactly how much chakra I had compared to the average Ninja, but I did know I had _much_ more than a freshly-minted Genin. Even beyond the Academy Three there were few Jutsu that could wipe me out in one go, chakra exhaustion wasn't something to worry about. And, since brute-force training my body with chakra enhancement had given me ample control over my chakra, The Academy Three were almost disappointingly simple to learn. Hell, the least chakra intensive technique, the Clone technique, was the most difficult to learn, simply because it took so _little_ chakra that I had a hard time siphoning off just enough to power it, but not so much as to overload it. I had a feeling it would only get harder as my reserves grew.

I wasn't quite satisfied with just learning them, though, mostly because they seemed so impractical. After all, who has the time to form hand seals in the middle of battle? The Substitution Jutsu uses five whole hand seals, and that one would presumably be the most time sensitive since it was mostly used to dodge enemy attacks, and higher ranked Jutsu used even more! The only way I could think of to make them feasible in battle was to either just keep practicing until I could go through them all nearly instantaneously (which made a certain amount of sense, the books seemed to place a lot of emphasis of doing just that) or… find a way to do it without them.

At first, the idea seemed crazy, Jutsu were performed using hand seals, that's just how it worked, but whenever I went through the seals, I could _feel_ my chakra shifting and shaping on its own and I figured, "Couldn't I just mould it manually?"

I don't know. It made sense in theory, but in practice I just couldn't get it down. No matter how much I pushed and pulled and twisted and folded, the end result was never quite what I get when I just used hand seals. I was certain I could do it, but until then I resolved to just practice going through the hand seals faster and faster.

The only thing I very much wanted to learn, but just couldn't find any information on was Fuinjutsu. There were almost no mentions of the art - only ever in passing - and the _only_ detailed description of it (a single paragraph in a book describing the different Ninja arts) didn't so much as hint as to how to get into it. This really disappointed me. More than anything I wanted learn the sealing arts, it was my family's legacy! Really, the only way to learn was to ask Mommy to teach me, but… well, that just wasn't an option at the moment.

She just… wasn't around. I didn't really know what she got up while she was gone (though I had heard stories damaged property and hospitalized Ninja, so I knew it wasn't anything too… degrading,) but I did know she drank a _lot_. Because she always came back drunk. And it took a lot to get an Uzumaki drunk. Our metabolism was just too high, we had to drink a lot and drink it quickly to even get tipsy, and it also meant we never got hangovers. It's why Tsunade of the Sannin was so famous for her drinking, she was a quarter Uzumaki, and Mom could drink Tsunade under the table (Not that I was exactly proud of that fact.)

So I would wait every night for her to come home (usually training in the meanwhile) and I wouldn't fall asleep until she was. And if it got too late I would go out to look for her, though after the first few times she was surprisingly consistent in showing up before I went out.

Usually when she returned, she would have that same blank mask she always wore. She would see me in the entrance hall waiting for her, and she might grumble under her breath about how it was late, and I should get to bed before stumbling her way to her own room, and I would nod, smiling brightly at her.

Sometimes she would come home crying. I always hated when she did. As soon as she sees me her tears would multiply and she would hobble over, engulfing me in her arms as she apologized over and over and over again for everything and nothing all at once, and my heart would ache because no matter what I did, no matter how tightly I hugged her back or how many tears I kissed away, she wouldn't stop crying. I would carry her (drag her really, I was much too small to lift her up off the ground) to her room, setting her down on her bed, but she wouldn't let go of me so I would lay down with her, holding her until she quieted and fell asleep. But no matter how badly I wanted to stay there, wrapped in her embrace, once she fell asleep I would slowly untangle myself from her arms and head back to my own room, where I would lay in my own bed silently, my heart burning, but I wouldn't cry, because Mommy's cried enough for the both of us.

Sometimes she would come smiling. That was always the worst. Because when she did that, it was because she had drunk herself to the point where she could no longer see anything other than what was in front of her. She would stumbled in, her violet eyes locking with my blue and her smile would brighten and my breath would hitch because _God,_ she was so beautiful when she was smiling, but at the same time it _hurt_ so much because it looked so fake.

"Naruto-chan!" she would call, rushing over to me, surprisingly coordinated for how much she no doubt drank, and picking me up easily, spinning me around and causing a giggle to rise up from my throat. Then she would stop and press her forehead against mine and look deeply into my eyes, and I would do the same for her. And I'd want to cry from how _broken_ she looked.

Then I would notice the smell of sweat and dirt and alcohol that clung to her like a second skin and I'd grimace, and she'd notice, of course.

"Ehehe…" she'd laugh sheepishly, like I'd just caught her stealing from my personal stash of ramen. "I guess I do kinda stink, eh Musume? How about we take a bath together, Hmm? We haven't done that in awhile."

 _Not since you were last this drunk,_ I would think, but I'd just smile and nod my head.

"Great!" And she'd take a step and suddenly all sense of poise would leave her and she'd stumble harshly, and I would have to break free of her arms to catch myself and avoid getting hurt, but Mommy wouldn't be able to do the same and she would fall to the ground in a feeble mess. I'd frown and make sure she was okay, but she'd just laugh it off with a joke about having one too many drinks, and I'd force myself to smile again.

I'd pick up as much of her as I could and drag her to the bathing room, while she coos over how strong I'd gotten and how I was going to be an incredible Kunoichi. Then I'd help her out of her clothes before discarding my own, and we'd rinse each other off. Once all the dirt and grime had washed off and all that was left was smooth, porcelain skin, it was very easy to get distracted by her figure. It was lean and toned, muscle visible, but not prominent, and still so curvy and soft. I wasn't yet old enough to be attracted to her sexually, but I knew that once I hit puberty, all bets would be off. Of course, that didn't stop Mommy from teasing me about my blatant staring. It'd make me blush but it wouldn't stop me.

Finally, we'd get in the tub to soak, Mommy getting in first and then dragging me onto her lap. My face would be flaming from being so close with nothing between us, but I'd be smiling widely all the same. By this point she'd be dozing off, and I'd be admiring her gorgeous face when she'd suddenly snap awake and see me staring, again, and smirk.

"Like what you see, Musume?" She'd ask teasingly, and I'd blush harder, but my smile wouldn't fade and I'd nod.

"Well," she'd say, "How about a kiss, then?"

My heart would quicken in my chest, my blush intensifying further, and I'd lean in and peck her on the cheek, but then she'd pout adorably and say, "Not like that Naruto-chan. A real kiss."

And I'd want to, I'd really, _really_ want to, but I want our first kiss to be something special and not just a drunken tease to be forgotten the next day, so I'd shake my head and bury my head into her chest, and she'd whine cutely about how I'm being unfair.

Moments would pass as we both enjoy our silent embrace before Mommy speaks again, and she says my name softly, almost reverently, and I'd stiffen because I know what's coming next.

"Naruto," she'd say, and I'd tighten my hold on her and I can't keep the tears from leaking because I _hate_ this part and I don't want our moment together to end.

"I love you."

I'd pull back suddenly, looking desperately at her as she stares back at me, searchingly, each second that passes looking more and more broken.

"... Aren't you going to say it back?"

And I try, I desperately try to show her how hopelessly in love with her I am, to get her to see the affection and devotion I have for her that's showing on my face and shining in my eyes.

But she doesn't see it, and she breaking down crying, and I can't do anything but hold her as she sobs.

"You never say it back."

But I do, I say it everytime I see her, it's written in my smile and shining in my eyes.

"You never say anything… You must hate me..."

I could never hate her. I'd give the world for her, but she's too lost in her grief and self-loathing and nothing I do can get her to see it.

And later, when I've gotten her out of the bath and into her bed and I'm lying awake in the darkness of my room, I let out a single, gut-wrenching sob as I wish, _wish_ that any of it was real. Because the next day, everything is just as it was before, and I don't think she even remembers it. Nothing had changed, so I do it all over, again and again, every day, hoping and praying that one day she'll see the endless love I have for her, and finally start working toward getting better.

Because I don't think I could survive anything less.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Five thousand words and this already has half the favourites of my forty chapter story. Either this is just _really_ good, or that just shows how much bigger the Naruto fanbase is than the Elder Scrolls one.

Regardless, as you can see, I decided to add to this story, but first, I want to make a couple things clear.

Firstly, I was slightly hesitant to even write more for this, I really liked it as a one-shot. In the end, though, I just had what I felt were really good ideas for it, and decided to write it. If you happen to feel the same, feel free to just completely ignore everything past chapter one.

Secondly, this just isn't a priority. Sorry for those who want more, but I simply don't have the same investment in it as The Dragon and the Wolf, and as such, I don't expect the quality of the chapters to be quite as good. I also don't have any idea for an ending, so I have no idea how long this will be.

Well, that's about it, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

I'm starting the Academy tomorrow.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

It wasn't anything to be excited about. I was certain I was already on par with the average Genin, the only thing I needed to learn was how to throw kunai and shuriken, but I doubted that would be all that difficult. The Academy was, at best, a place to make friends and get to know my future comrades, not that I any hope (nor desire) for that regard.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

But… Well, it was stupid really. It was such a stupid, trivial thing, and it really shouldn't bother me.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

I used to dream of the day I would first attend the Academy. Not the Academy itself, no, like most things, my dream heavily involved Mommy. It was a simple dream really, I would wake up and Mommy and I would share a breakfast together before we got ready for the day, and then we'd leave for the Academy together, walking hand in hand, where she would drop me off with a smile and a wave.

That's it. Just a nice, simple little scene that would make me smile every time I thought of it.

But that's all it was.

A dream.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

I wasn't even something I expected to happen, just something I liked to daydream about every once in a while, but then the first day started fast approaching and it became harder and harder to ignore the fact that it _wasn't going to happen_.

It hurt, and I felt so dumb and childish, because really, what did it matter in the end? Lots of kids didn't even want their parents to attend, either for a want to appear independent or for a fear that they would embarrass them (and oh, how I hated those ungrateful brats, those that pushed away their parent's loving hugs and kisses because they were _embarrassed._ )

So I shoved away all the hurt and hid away deep in the woods took out all of my frustrations on the nearest Hashirama Tree.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick._ _ **Punch**_ _._

My chakra flared erratically as my emotions got the better of me (a problem I haven't been able to fix since it happened so rarely) and I packed far too much chakra into that last punch. The wood splintered violently, bark flying every which way as my fist buried itself into the tree and I heard an audible _snap_ as a jolt of pain shot up my arm. I hissed aloud, pulling back my arm and gently cradling it in my hand as I tried to asses the damage. My forearm was severely bruised, blackening sickly, and there was distinct lump centered in the worst of it. Definitely broken.

I sighed frustratedly and let my arm fall limp at my side, ignoring the sharp, stinging pain.

 _Kick. Kick. Punch. Kick. Kick. Punch._

I wasn't sure how long I spent there, it was so very easy to get lost in the methodical pattern, but at some point long after night fell I was abruptly forced from my training-induced stupor when I heard a voice calling my name.

I whirled around to face whoever had snuck up on me, taking a defensive posture (I did not like being surprised) but I relaxed slightly when I saw silver tufts of hair.

"Naruto, what are you doing out here?" Kakashi-niisan asked.

I blinked up at him before glancing back at the tree I'd been abusing, then back to Kakashi.

If he thought it was unusual for a six-year-old to be able to punch holes into trees like the one behind me was sporting, he didn't show it. Then again, by the time he was my age, he was already a Chūnin, so he wasn't exactly the best example of "normal."

He let out a small sigh, barely, I would've missed it if I wasn't so focused on him. "I don't know why you feel the need to train so hard, Naruto. You haven't even entered the Academy yet."

I stayed silent, just stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Er… Right, well… Come on, it's late anyway. I'll walk you home."

I nodded and made my way toward him keeping my broken arm stiff at my side to keep the pain minimal.

Kakashi-niisan noticed my odd posture (he had always been able to read me with surprising accuracy. I wasn't sure if it was a Shinobi thing, or if it was just him) and narrowed his single visible eye at me. "Are you hurt? Let me see."

I grudgingly obliged, holding out my arm for his inspection. There was no point in resisting when he was in his what I affectionately referred to as "mother hen mode."

He gently poked and prodded at my arm before diagnosing it as broken, which prompted me to roll my eyes at his pointing out to obvious. Though I didn't expect him to suddenly hoist me up off the ground and practically cradle me in his arms. I squirmed uselessly in his grasp, because _what the hell,_ but he just tightened his hold on me as he jumped up into the trees and hopped away with me.

"Stop that," he admonished. "It's badly broken. If it doesn't get proper treatment, it could heal incorrectly. I'm taking you to the hospital."

I sighed, half in exasperation, half resignation. It wouldn't heal improperly, the Fox would make sure of that, and I wasn't even sure the hospital would treat me, but trying to stop Kakashi-niisan when he was like this was a bit like trying to dig out a lake with a spoon.

So I forced myself to relax and rested my head against his chest, chuckling internally at how the motion made him tense. For all his skill as a Shinobi, he was somehow even worse at genuine human interaction then I was, which was saying something.

It wasn't so bad being carried. It was principle that made me protest more than anything, but since I _was_ a child, I couldn't really complain. Besides, while his chest was rather hard, it wasn't bulky enough to be genuinely uncomfortable. A solid seven on the cuddlebility scale (He was nowhere near Mommy, though.)

The trip to the hospital was both short and exhilarating (I loved shunshin. I couldn't wait to learn it for myself.) Kakashi-niisan graciously allowed me to keep what little dignity I had and set me down to trail behind him when he reached the entrance. Watching the masked ninja verbally outmaneuver the receptionist who was shamelessly attempting to flirt with him (though I wasn't entirely sure he merely didn't notice her advances) was rather amusing, and her drastic change in demeanor when she noticed my presence was downright comical.

"What is _she_ doing here?" the lady practically screeched.

Of course, it was also on the verge of suicidal since Kakashi-niisan was still in mother hen mode.

The temperature dropped dramatically as Kakashi narrowed his eye dangerously. The receptionist lady visibly paled and trembled in fright as he leveled his gaze at her (is that what Killing Intent felt like?) and spoke, slowly and cooly. "As I _said_ , she is here to get treatment. Her arm is broken."

"A-ah, right, o-of course, Hatake-san. I'll call a nurse right away."

Moments later I was being attended to by a low-level med-nin who scowled darkly at me before, much like the receptionist, practically pissing herself when Kakashi-niisan glared at her. Vibrant green healing chakra flowed over my arm, snapping the bone back into place and stitching it back together. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, though I wasn't sure if it was universal, or purposeful.

The med-nin frowned as she worked. "Why has it taken so long to get treatment?"

Kakashi-niisan glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"The break is several days old by the looks of it, it's already started to heal."

"That's impossible. It's barely been two hours since it broke."

I blinked. He was watching me?

The med-nin's eyes darkened and muttered under her breath, "Demon freak…"

Kakashi-niisan looked at her sharply but didn't say anything more, and I kept my face carefully blank.

It didn't take long to get my arm healed, and soon we were not-so-subtly being shooed out of the hospital. As Kakashi-niisan began to lead me home, he spoke softly. "I'm sorry, Naruto. You don't deserve to be treated like that."

I looked up at him, tilting my head questioningly, wondering why he was apologizing. He was, after all, one of the _very_ few people who treated me well. He misinterpreted it though (as good as he was at reading me, he wasn't perfect,) and thought I was asking why I was treated the way I was.

The remainder of the walk was silent.

It didn't take long to reach my house, and I'd expected Kakashi to simply drop me off and head off on his own way, but instead he went up to the front door and knocked.

I blinked up at him, wondering what he was doing. He knocked again after a few moments passed and there was no response. I was about to brush past him and simply open the door when, much to my muted surprise, I heard movement from the other side and the door opened to reveal my beautiful Mommy.

I couldn't help the happy grin that graced my face. Either I was out training far later than I thought, or she just happened to be home early for whatever reason, but it was wonderful to see her regardless.

She blinked wearily at us. "Ka-kashi?" she mumbled out. "What're doing here?"

Kakashi-niisan smiled sadly under his mask. "Kushina-neesan. It's been awhile."

She blinked again and stared blankly at him.

He gestured to me. "I found Naruto out training in the woods. She had broken her arm from pushing herself too hard."

I wasn't even tired actually, but I saw Mommy's eyes widened in surprise and she turned sharply to me. "What? Are you okay?" She took a single step forward, her arm slightly outstretched, as if to check me over.

My heart fluttered in my chest at the unusual amount of concern she was showing (it wasn't that she didn't care, I knew she did. She just didn't show it.) I simply smiled brightly at her and nodded.

"I took her to the hospital," Kakashi continued. "She's fine now, but Kushina-neesan… you should let her know that it's okay to relax. This isn't the first time I've seen her stay out this late to train. I've told her this already, but she'll actually listen to you."

It's true. I liked training. It gave me something to do, and I wanted to be strong enough to protect Mommy. If she asked me to hold off on it though… I would. I'd do anything she asked of me. I hadn't realized Kakashi-niisan had been watching me as much as he apparently had been, though. I was flattered by his concern, I supposed, but it really was unnecessary.

"She'll have plenty of time to train after the Academy starts up tomorrow," finished Kakashi.

Mommy blinked her pretty violet eyes several times. "Oh, right. The Academy. Right."

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Kakashi sighed exasperatedly. "Honestly, Kushina-neesan."

"I didn't," Mommy insisted, not-quite-indignantly. I knew she did. "I just… didn't realize it was so soon."

Kakashi blinked (winked?) skeptically at her. "Right. Just… Don't forget, okay? How do you think Naruto would feel if you didn't show for the induction ceremony?"

Mommy glanced at me and for a split-second, I saw her guilt and shame showing in her eyes before she looked away. She was quiet for a moment. "I won't," she finally whispered.

I knew she would.

Kakashi-niisan said his awkward goodbyes, leaving me with Mommy. We stepped inside and I continued to stare up at Mommy with wide eyes, wondering what she would do. She stared back at me.

"... The Academy, huh?"

I nodded vigorously.

"I'm sure you'll do great. Just like-" She cut herself off, wincing harshly, then quickly blanked her features. "It's late. You should get to… dinner. Have you had dinner? We should have dinner."

She moved toward the kitchen and I toddled dutifully after her. She opened up the refrigerator and started rummaging around, muttering to herself all the while. "Rice… eggs… noodles… Ramen…? We could go to Ichiraku's… Haven't been there since- No, something else. Fish… I could stir-fry…"

Several moments passed as I watched Mommy search uselessly for something to make before I decided to take over. As much as I wanted to taste Mommy's cooking, I knew if she continued on like this, then she would likely change her mind about dinner altogether. With a small sigh, I slipped under her and reached into the fridge, grabbing for ingredients, ignoring the way she froze above me.

"N-Naruto-chan?"

Instead of responding, I stuffed my tiny arms full of everything I would need and moved out from under her to set it all onto the counter, placed the stepping stool I used when cooking in front of the stove (after using it in front of the sink to fill up a pot of water) and got to work making homemade ramen. It was easy enough to learn how to make it after watching Teuchi so many times, not to mention studying some old recipes books in the library. This wouldn't be as good though, not with the premade noodle I was using (I could make them from scratch, but it _was_ late and that would take too long.)

When I heard shuffling behind me, I discreetly glanced back to see Mommy had taken a seat at the dinner table with her head propped up on her arm, watching me with a sullen look in her eye. I felt my cheeks heat up involuntarily under her gaze and turned my attention back to my work.

It didn't take long afterward to finish making the Ramen. I poured as much as possible into two separate bowls and carried the first one over to her, setting it down in front of her with a huff (they were large bowls), then sitting across from her and setting my own bowl in front of me. I smiled happily at the thought of us eating together as I clapped my hands together in a silent _itadakimasu,_ fervently hoping Mommy wouldn't run off at the last second for whatever reason. My eyes lit up as she picked up a pair of chopsticks and took her first bite, and I watched intently as she blinked twice down at the bowl in front of her.

"It's good," she muttered.

I'm pretty sure my responding smile could be described as blinding.

Unfortunately, dinner was a quick and quiet affair (not that I expected anything else.) Mommy ate slowly, I was already done with my third bowl by the time she was finished her first, though she didn't ask for more. Still, she finished the bowl, which was a step up from usual. She went to bed afterward, and I did the same after cleaning up.

Despite my best efforts I couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope well up inside me. I knew it was just dinner leaving me giddy and excited, but maybe.. Maybe mommy _would_ walk me to the Academy. I mean she stayed for dinner right? And that _never_ happens. She even might have made it herself, if I hadn't interfered! Maybe she would do this simple thing for me too?

It was stupid of me to get my hopes up. The next day started like any other, I woke up, washed myself, and started on breakfast. Only, when I brought it up to Mommy to wake her up… she wasn't even there. I stared at the empty bed for what felt like the longest time, tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill onto my cheeks. I slowly, carefully set the plate I was carrying on the nightstand. Maybe… maybe she was already up. Maybe she started a bath while I was cooking. I left her bedroom and headed for the washroom, trying my very hardest not to run. Empty. Maybe she was already downstairs? Waiting for breakfast? My feet pounded loudly against the stairs as I ran to the kitchen, only to skid to a stop when I found it empty. Desperate, I turned back up the stairs and ran to my room, but no. Empty. Like the rest of the house. I fell to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest, tears falling freely now.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, _stupid._ I _knew_ this was going to happen and I still went got my hopes up anyway! I was so stupid!

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, but at some point, my tears ran dry. I slowly wiped my tears from my eyes and blanked my expression (something I think I was quite good at, after watching Mommy for so long) and made my way back downstairs. I wasn't hungry anymore, so I just grabbed my pack filled with everything I would need at the Academy and left.

Ignoring the glares and harsh whispers sent my way was second nature by now, and I hardly noticed them as I headed for the Academy. I was late, it seemed, for the Hokage was already there, spouting off to a crowd of eight-year-olds about the will of fire and serving the country and the rest of the standard propaganda that I didn't care to listen to. I slipped seamlessly into the crowd of children (though I'm sure the Hokage noticed) and listen with only half an ear as I thought on my plan for the Academy.

I was sure I could graduate in a year like Kakashi and Itachi, (though whether I could beat their scores or not, much less Minato's, was another matter) but I wasn't sure I wanted to. Well, that's not exactly true, I wanted to be a ninja as soon as possible. It's just that graduation mean missions, and missions meant less time with Mommy.

I sighed quietly as the Hokage finished up his speech. Well, it's not like I spent all that much time with her anyway. I decided to just do my best and see what happens. There was spattered clapping as I was ushered inside the Academy along with the rest of the slightly older children. I noticed the Hokage staring straight at me and I studiously ignored him. I didn't trust him in the slightest. He was, after all, one of the few possible people who could have leaked Mommy's Jinchūriki status. But besides that, he was the one who allowed me to attend the Academy two years early. A good thing, all things considered, but I didn't ask him to do so, and I doubt Mommy did, so he did it of his own accord, which meant he had some sort of agenda for me. Not exactly unexpected, given the giant Fox in my gut, but I wanted no part of it regardless.

It wasn't too long until I found myself sitting in the back of a classroom, silently studying the class. Civilians, mostly, in fact, it only looked like there were two clan kids (one obviously a Hyuga, probably a branch member. The other was harder to place, but given that she looked ready to clonk out at any moment, it was safe to say she was a Nara.) I doubted even half of them would make it to the second year. Civilians just didn't understand how much work it took to be a shinobi, and their kids were nowhere near ready for it.

A white-haired man with a bandana wrapped around his head, the teacher I presumed, burst into the class, effectively silencing any and all excited mumblings and ongoing conversations. He introduced himself as Mizuki ( _Just Mizuki?_ ) and began taking roll. That's when my troubles started.

It was easy to tell when he got to my name, for he visibly sneered and spat my name out.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

I raised my hand.

He glared at me. "You will respond appropriately when your name is called. Is that clear?"

I blinked at him.

"Is that clear?" he said again, more firmly.

I nodded, and the teacher narrowed his eyes at me

"Uzumaki Naruto!" He said again, fiercely and deliberately.

I kept my hand raised. There were smatterings of laughter from the other children, though I wasn't quite sure was was funny. A snarl from Mizuki quickly silenced them.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, slamming his clipboard down on the table. He pointed to the door. "Go sit out in the hall. I'll be with you in the moment to discuss your punishment."

I looked to Mizuki, then to the door, then back to Mizuki. Without a word, I stood and left the room. I was definitely graduating early, I decided as I sat beside the door. I wondered who my Jōnin sensei would be. Ideally, I'd want an apprenticeship with Kakashi-niisan, but he was too busy trying to commit suicide via ANBU, so that wasn't likely, even without the apprenticeship. Really though, I didn't know anyone else enough to have an opinion on them except maybe Itachi, from the few times I've seen him with Kakashi. He seemed like a pretty mellow guy (though a bit stressed if the lines under his eyes were any indicator,) perfect for a sensei, but he was still technically a Chūnin, despite being in ANBU, so that was out too.

Although, there was Kakashi-niisan's self-proclaimed rival, Guy. What I'd seen of his personality made being his student a frightening prospect, to be sure, but he _was_ quite strong, and Taijutsu was something I wanted to specialize in, aside from Fūinjutsu. Well, regardless, I needed to graduate first.

Mizuki did eventually emerge from the classroom (after classes had ended) and started lecturing me on proper procedure and respect for authorities and blah, blah, blah. His lecturing gradually became more and more heated as I stood there, silently staring up at him until he was practically raving at me. I didn't know what he expected, I had made it perfectly clear I wasn't going to say a word, no matter how red his face became. At some point, he assigned a detention of some sort for the next day which I ignored (teachers only have authority if the students let them, as with most governing bodies,) and sent me on my way.

The following months proved to follow a similar arrangement. I continuously got in trouble for not using my voice (not even bothering to ask if I even _could_ ) and received constant lecturing (i.e. yelled at repeatedly) for not showing up to detentions. Honestly, they probably would have expelled me if not for being a Jinchūriki (and thus, required to be a ninja.)

I figured I would just deal with it until I graduated, it was should only be a year after all, but even that didn't seem possible. Since I was forced to sit out the first day, I didn't take the placement exams to see what level I was, and instead of having me take them later, they just gave me a big fat zero and put me smack down at the bottom of the class. I didn't really care, I figured I could just bring my placement back up eventually. At least, that would be the case, if the teachers had ever heard of anything call 'fair play' before. Worksheets and tests were a joke, it didn't matter how well I did, I failed everything. Not utterly, the actual grade varied, but not a single test came back with a passing grade even on things I _know_ I got right (I'm pretty damn sure I know the date my own dad died, it's my own freaking birthday.)

I even stole the grading sheet in advance once, just to make sure I wasn't somehow imagining everything. I was in no way expecting it to be as easy as it was to break into the Academy in the dead of night to do so, but I did. Every answer, word for word, matched the grading sheet. They didn't even call me out on cheating, just failed me and called it a day.

Taijutsu practice was even worse, borderline abusive if I cared to call it such. It was only the first year, so it was supposed to mainly be focused on building stamina, familiarizing the kids with the beginner's katas, and basically what amounted to play fights between students. For me, though, the teachers decided I needed 'special lessons', and pretty much just took the opportunity to beat me up. Not badly, however thinly veiled it was, they were still pretending to help me, and I'm pretty sure they thought they were hurting me far more than they actually were. And their 'lessons' did actually help, too. The gap between Chūnin and Genin was vast, and the opportunity to fight with one was invaluable experience. Not to mention, the look on their faces when I managed to get a hit in was priceless.

All in all, the Academy was even more worthless than I thought it would be. So I stopped going. I still showed up for tests, just to prove I existed and also every once in a while to spar (not that they would call it that) with a Chūnin, but otherwise I just did what I had always done. Stole books from the library and taught myself. The Academy library went far more in depth into ninja techniques than the public one, and I devoured every book I could get my hands on. It took me a solid two weeks to bring my shurikenjutsu up to graduating level (and again, breaking into the Academy armoury for the weapons was ridiculously easy) and afterwords I simply studied and practiced everything I could if I thought I could use it.

Unfortunately, there was still nothing on Fūinjutsu. It just seem to be a lost art. Regardless, nothing was stopping me from graduating but the bias of ignorant teachers. I wasn't certain what to do about that, but I figured if my lack of attendance or terrible grades became a problem then the Hokage would get involved. Maybe I could do something about it then.

Until then though, these were going to be some tediously long years.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Edit:**_ Fixed an issue with the italics not showing up, and added some tags. I realized I needed them with some stuff that's coming up, and since this is no longer a one-shot, they're far more necessary.

* * *

It's no real surprise I'm always alone. The other students avoid me, my teachers hate me, and Mommy hurts every time she looks at me. The only person who deigns themselves to spend time with me is Kakashi-niisan, but he's so busy with Anbu that those moments are few and far between. I don't really mind. The solitude gave me more time to train, but I sort of wish there was someone to give me some sort of direction, instead of just kind of blundering my way through like I've been doing.

Even the few times I've bothered going to class proved fruitless in that regard. Lately, the teachers have taken to ignoring my presence entirely instead of cursing my very existence, like they usually do. Apparently, it took far more effort to actively hate me than to just pretend I wasn't there. The phrase "alone in a crowded room" came to mind.

The point is, I've run into a metaphorical brick wall when it came to training. I just didn't know how to continue. Sure, I could do all the strength training I want and while it would certainly help me get physically stronger when it came everything else I didn't have an inkling on how to progress. The library could only teach me so much. I'd perfected the academy Katas, you could only get so accurate with shurikenjutsu, and I had the chakra control exercises down pat. I'd read about nature transformation as well, but couldn't find anything detailing how to actually do it.

So I was stuck. And that irritated me, greatly, but since I couldn't _do_ anything about it, I forced myself to shove away all my frustrations and focus on what I _could_ do, which basically amounted to strength training. But when I couldn't do that, and my anger got the better of me and I ended up accidentally blowing up a tree (and usually a limb in the process,) I sat myself down, usually on the underside of a tree, just because I could, and played with my chakra to calm down.

One day, I was doing just that, when I decided to try something new.

I had just finished abusing some poor tree in the woods (which was now sporting a fist-sized hole in its trunk) and plonked myself on the underside of one of its branches, focusing just enough chakra in my butt to keep me there, and started meditating. It was difficult to mess around with my chakra while keeping a constant flow on my underside to stop me from falling. Or at least it was. I had long since gotten used to it.

I liked to knead my chakra. Well, "kneading" was the closest equivalent to what I was doing that I could come up with. Basically, I gather as much chakra as I could and ball it up in my chest, then press it together, flattening it out like a pancake, then fold it in on itself again and again until I couldn't anymore, then flatten it out all over again. It was fun and felt kind of strange but in a good way. The whole process took several minutes, and I found it very relaxing.

But today I wanted to try something different. Up until now, everything I'd done with my chakra was done _inside_ my body, which, you know, made sense. But I had bothered to actually attend class earlier that day and they had a lecture about chakra and how it affects the world around us, usually in terms of jutsu. Basically _why_ chakra allowed us to do all these amazing things. I mostly ignored it, it wasn't anything I didn't already know, but it gave me an idea. What would happen if I pushed my chakra _outside_ of my body? Not for a jutsu, or any purpose at all really, just for the sake of it? I was curious, so spread my chakra across my body and pooled it into each of my chakra points, and _pushed_.

I wasn't expecting it to push back.

At least, I think that's what happened. I wasn't totally sure. As soon as I let loose my chakra it felt as if the world suddenly compressed, pressing into me from every which way. It wasn't painful, but extremely disorienting, and so utterly surprising that I lost control of my chakra, both causing the feeling to cease, as well as knocking me out of the tree. Luckily I managed to twist myself around in time to land on my feet.

I blinked several times in confusion, wondering what in the world just happened. Deciding the best way to find out would be to try again, I sat down next to the base of the tree and closed my eyes, focused my chakra, and pushed it out. Immediately the sensation of the world pressing in on me returned, but this time I was better prepared for it. I kept a steady stream of chakra flowing from my body as I tried to make sense of what I was feeling.

It was like the world just shrunk. People _everywhere._ Civilians bustling about in the market and residential districts, Ninja hopping along the rooftops or training in training grounds both near and far. Some people's presence seemed more prominent than others. I could barely feel the civilians. They were like insects, noticed, but disregarded. Others seemed to drown out everyone around them. One powerful presence encompassed the entirety of the Hokage's Residence, and it didn't take much to guess who it was. The Hokage felt like burning ash, old and weathered, but still dangerous. I had to really focus to pinpoint anyone else in the area. But another presence shadowed even his, and there was no need to guess who it was.

My heart clenched as I recognized Mommy's chakra located in what was probably one of the many bars scattered around The Leaf. She felt like a once-bright flame that had been doused long ago, but even then her aura was almost omnipresent, filling the entire district and then some, probably the result of being both an Uzumaki and a previous jinchūriki.

 _Uzumaki!_ I realized with a start. There were three things Uzumaki were most well known for, their incredible chakra, Fūinjutsu, and their sensing abilities! This must be what I was doing, the world didn't shrink, I was just feeling everyone all at once! Jeez, I knew we were incredible, but this is ridiculous! Or maybe my being a junchūriki was having an effect on its range? I had no idea how far Mommy could sense after all.

I was tempted to spend more time watching Mommy, but I knew if I just watched her I would worry needlessly, so instead I looked around to see if I could find Kakashi-niisan when I noticed something I really should have noticed right away.

Someone was watching me.

Then several things happened all at once.

Before I could even properly register who was stalking me, a dark, oppressive chakra just _appeared_ out of nowhere in one of the clan compounds, which one I wasn't sure. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt the twisted chakra, strangely familiar, though I had no idea why. Then the aura's of those around it abruptly began to disappear one by one, with something similar happening elsewhere in the compound.

As I took in the powerful chakra, a strange unearthly rage resonated through me, one that hardly felt like my own, but before I could do so much as gasp, I heard the rustling of leaves and the unmistakable whistling of a kunai flying through the air. My eyes shot open in surprise and my hands almost reflexively ran through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu, finishing just as I saw a glint of metal inches from my face before my vision distorted as the jutsu took hold.

I landed several yards away up in a tree, grabbing hold of a nearby branch to steady myself. I stilled as much as I could and halted my breathing, desperately trying to calm my pounding heart, watching as a figure in a white animal mask jumped down to where I was just a moment ago.

I blinked in surprise. An Anbu just tried to kill me? But… no, the mask was… wrong, somehow. Every Anbu mask I'd seen had some sort of decorative colored pattern to them, but this one was just plain white. A fake? But why? Who would try to kill me?

…

Okay, that was a stupid question. But why dress up as an Anbu? Any old facemask would do. Unless, of course, it really was an Anbu, and the Hokage was trying to kill me. Or perhaps a ninja had gone rogue, that seemed more likely. The figure did seem strangely small, a younger member would be more likely to give into emotional influence.

The (possibly fake) Anbu yanked out the kunai that had lodged itself into the tree that was behind me and began scanning the area for me, and I realized that this was a terrible place to reflect. Survive now, think later. Running wasn't an option, the moment I moved, he would no doubt know exactly where I was. The only thing left was to fight.

My heart desperately beating against my ribcage, I slowly, quietly, drew a handful of shuriken. They wouldn't do any damage, not if he really was Anbu, but it just might distract him long enough to do… something. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

But maybe I could… yeah, that might work. For a second at least.

Taking one last deep breath to steel myself, I slowly, _slowly_ formed the signs: Ram, Snake, Tiger. Then I tossed the shuriken.

The Anbu's head snapped to my direction and he jumped up onto the trunk of the tree, letting the shuriken clatter uselessly against the ground while he pushed off the tree, heading in my direction, but I was already running through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu. I replaced myself with one of the shuriken, cursing in my head as the disorienting jutsu caused me to stumble slightly, wasting precious seconds. I quickly formed the seals for the clone technique one again then tossed another handful of shuriken along with my clone, making sure to intersperse the real ones with the fake. I jumped up into the tree leaves immediately afterward, drawing a kunai and going utterly still as I waited for an indication that my attacker knew where I was.

The Anbu was still jumping through the air when he must have heard the whirling of the shuriken. He ignored the clone I left up there and twisted himself around to land against the tree branch and block the shuriken. My eyes widened in surprise when he failed to distinguish the real from the fake as several grazed past his arms drawing blood. Instead of going after the clone like I'd hoped, however, he stilled and searched for my location.

Damn it. So much for ambushing him. What do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

…

 _Damn it._

Flashing through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu, I replaced myself with a leaf behind the rogue ninja's head, spinning in the air as I pumped chakra into my legs and aimed a kick for his neck, but he raised his arm at the last moment and blocked it. Before I lost all my momentum, I swung my arm around and attempted to impale his chest with my kunai, only to have my wrist caught. The Anbu pushed my leg away and before I could do anything he swung his kunai downward.

Blood splashed against the tree branches and a searing pain spread across my side. The Anbu let go of me and I tumbled helplessly to the ground. I landed harshly on my back with an anguished grunt. My hand went to my side and pressed against the wound sending sharp jolts of agony through my body but I kept it there as it became slick with blood, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that it was better than letting the blood flow freely.

When I managed to turn my gaze back toward the Anbu, I saw him leaping down from the tree and I hastily tossed my kunai at him, whimpering pathetically when the action only served to trigger another wave of pain as he easily blocked the knife with his own. He landed silently next to me and I tried to glare up at him, but it probably came out more like a grimace.

There wasn't much point in trying to get away. I could barely move as it was, the pain in my side was too much. I couldn't fight back either. That was painfully clear. So when the Anbu readied his kunai for what could only be the final blow I just closed my eyes and waited.

 _I just hope Mommy won't miss me too much._

But I knew it would only break her completely. No matter what she said, how distant she acted, I knew I was the only thing keeping her from _really_ going off the deep end. But if I was going there'd be no one left to take care of her. No one to bring her home when it got too late. No one to remind her to eat every day. No one to hold her and remind her that she _wasn't_ alone when she was at her very worst. No one to keep her from wasting away.

 _No!_ A seething rage took over as I thought of what would happen to Mommy if I was gone. Chakra began to flood my body, wild and frenzied, it burned in my veins as it spread, but I hardly noticed. My hand shot out and caught the kunai mid-swing, the edge biting painfully into my palm. I yanked the Anbu toward me drawing out a surprised grunt. I closed my free hand into a fist and felt that searing chakra gather as I punched his chest with as much force as I could muster. He was sent flying across the clearing where he hit a tree with a loud _crack_ and a pained groan.

I stood across from him on all fours, an animalistic growl tearing from my throat. Chakra gathered in my hand and on my side, burning painfully but sealing the wounds all the same. I dashed forward, faster than I could ever remember being, claws that I only just realized I had extended. Moments before my claws raked his chest he jumped to the side, but I pushed off against the tree and chased after him. The Anbu reach for his pouch and drew out two handfuls of shuriken and tossed them at me, but before I could even think about dodging I felt chakra building up in my chest and I released it in a furious roar. The shuriken were all knocked away by an unseen force and I continued unimpeded. I closed in easily and swiped both hands at his torso. Claws rent flesh and fabric as blood sprayed into the air, the Anbu letting out a cry of pain. He fell to the ground, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I landed on his chest and reached down to wrap my hands around his neck, snarling ferociously at his mask as my claws dug into his skin, drawing blood.

The Anbu grabbed my arms and tried to shake me loose but I refused to let go, tightening my grip further and further until I felt and heard a _crack_.

The Anbu went utterly still and I finally relaxed. I let out a long breath, the unearthly chakra and rage fading with it. I shakily stood from the newly-made corpse taking slow, deep breaths, feeling more exhausted than I could ever remember being and soreness that seemed to reach my bones. Closing my eyes briefly, I concentrated for a moment and reached for my newfound sensing abilities. I pushed my chakra out around me and awareness flooded me. That twisted chakra I had felt before was gone, as was nearly every other chakra signature in the area. There was still a handful left, but even those were swiftly vanishing one by one. But more importantly, there was no one else in my immediate vicinity. And distinct lack of chakra from the body just below me. He was definitely dead.

…

Was that it?

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the body. I had just killed someone. Ended a life. I thought it would be more…

I don't know. I'd thought about how I would react to killing for the first time, of course, I was training to be a ninja, after all. I thought I might've been horrified. That was most people's reaction after all, hell, Jōnin-sensei in the Leaf had a whole protocol in place to deal with a Genin's first kill. I thought I might've been disgusted, but carry one regardless, simply taking it as a fact of life as a ninja. I'd even thought I might've enjoyed it in some way, perhaps taking some dark pleasure in taking one's life. I didn't think I would, but I figured it was possible. It was just one of those things where you just don't know how you'll react until it happens.

But I didn't expect to feel nothing. To not care in the slightest one way or another. I mean… I'm glad he's dead. But just because it meant I was still alive. I didn't particularly care that it was me who killed him.

…

Maybe I was in shock? That was certainly possible. Maybe it just hadn't hit me yet, what I'd done.

...

Maybe it was the mask. With the mask covering his face, it was almost like it wasn't even a human I killed. Morbidly curious, I knelt down and carefully peeled the animal mask off his face. Dark hair. Pale skin. Cold, dark eyes, staring unblinkingly at me.

I blinked back.

Sighing, I stood back up, my knees wobbling slightly from the ache. Well, whatever. I was still alive, that's all that really matters. I started heading back home, each shaky step becoming surer as I walked.

I was curious about what was happening over in that clan district, so I pushed my chakra out as I walked, keeping an eye, so to speak, on the area. Seeing with my chakra was weird. It wasn't really seeing, not in the traditional sense. It was sort of like echolocation. My chakra traveled out in all directions until it made contact with another source of chakra, where it burned brightly in my senses, making it easy to pinpoint them in my surroundings, as long as it wasn't overshadowed by another, even brighter source, that is.

The point is, the clan district was practically devoid of chakra sources by now. I still wasn't sure which clan it was, I was only even vaguely sure it was a clan district at all. I didn't exactly make it a habit of wandering around those areas. There were only four sources of chakra that I could sense, three grouped close together, one some distance away, but closing in slowly. Sometime later, two of the three sputtered out abruptly and not long afterward the last two met.

I realized I'd made it home and I walked inside and headed for the washroom to wash out the blood and sweat from my body, still watching the two auras intently. The larger of the two spiked suddenly and the other seemed to wilt in response but didn't quite fade. When the larger started to move away, out toward the edge of the village, the smaller seemed to revitalize quite suddenly and chase after the other. They stopped near the edge for a brief moment, before the smaller faded once again, still alive, but dimmer than ever. The larger left then, moving away from the village, farther and farther at an astonishing speed until I couldn't sense it any longer.

Humming in thought as I lowered myself into the tub, I wondered what that was all about. I opened my eyes, only just realizing I'd had them closed for several minutes now. Well, I'm sure I'd figure out what happened tomorrow. Mass murder was sure to light one hell of a spark in the rumor mill, after all.

Absently rubbing the blood and bits of flesh out from under my fingernails, I wondered something else. How the hell did I beat that Anbu guy? I mean, I knew _what_ I did, but not a clue _how._ I couldn't hold out against him for more than a second in open combat, then all of a sudden I was kicking his butt? And what was up with my chakra? It'd felt like liquid fire running through my veins, and yet at the same time, it was so incredibly empowering. I didn't even have to direct it, it just seemed to do what I needed it to do, almost like it had a mind of its-

...

Oh.

A shiver of fear ran down my spine as I thought of the implications of that. I knew the seal was designed so I could draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra if I needed it (though now that I thought of it, I wasn't really sure how I knew that. No one ever explained it to me, and I knew next to nothing about Fūinjutsu. I just knew it was something I could do,) but I didn't think the Fox could push its chakra into me on its own accord. What was stopping it from doing so at worst possible of moments? If I just suddenly started emitting the Fox's chakra in the middle of the village, who knows what could happen?

Unless… it actually couldn't. After all, if it could push its chakra out whenever, then why stop doing so in the first place? Why not keep pushing until it was _all_ out, and thus, freeing itself. Besides, I was pretty angry at the time, livid, in fact, when I used its chakra, all the way up until I killed the Anbu. (I felt a sudden rush of satisfying vindication at the thought. How _dare_ he try to hurt Mommy by killing me?) Since the Fox's chakra was basically rage incarnate, I suppose it wasn't too much of a stretch to say my emotions aligned enough to start subconsciously pulling on it.

If so, then maybe it wasn't as worrying as I'd thought. I hardly ever got angry, after all. Frustrated, sure, but never really angry. Especially to that extent.

Climbing out of the bath, I ended up getting ready to go to bed. It was fairly late and, normally, I'd be getting ready to head out and look for Mommy, but I was just too exhausted and sore, instead, as I lay in bed, I extended my senses one last time and watched Mommy as she moved around the village, letting her chakra soothe me to sleep, distantly wondering what she was with the Hokage for.

I woke up early, like always, my internal alarm clock not allowing otherwise, despite how tired I was. Yawning, I attempted to rub the sleep from my eyes, feeling an ache in my arms as I did so. That was weird. I'd never woken up sore before. In fact, I'd hardly ever had to deal with soreness in the first place. My muscles healed nearly as fast as I'd damage them, at least, when exercising. I typically only felt sore when I _really_ pushed myself, and even then, only for an hour or so at most afterward.

Getting up out of bed and dressing myself proved that, yes, I did indeed ache all over. I even had a headache, which sucked massively. Last time I had a headache was when I was trying to learn tree jumping and horribly misjudged a leap, hitting face first into a tree trunk, resulting in both a headache and a nosebleed.

I tried to ignore the ache in my body as I climbed downstairs and started making breakfast, but it honestly wasn't easy. I was used to short, intense pains, not small lingering ones.

(And it reminded me far too much of when I was younger. Too small and helpless to do anything but cry out as the pain racked my body, desperate for relief, but not knowing anything else.)

Shaking my head from those gloomy memories as I finished up breakfast, I made a plate to bring up to Mommy. Halfway upstairs, I remembered what I learned to do yesterday and pushed out my chakra to see if she was home since I didn't bring her back last night, frowning when I couldn't feel her chakra. Extending my sensed further, I tried to pinpoint where she was. It was almost startling how simple it was to wash my chakra over the village, monitoring the comings and goings of with relative ease, though it wasn't like I could tell one chakra signature from another, I didn't know anyone well enough for that. But I knew Mommy's chakra intimately, and it was very distinctive too, so it should've been easy to find her.

So I panicked slightly when I couldn't feel her anywhere, before remembering a small detail from yesterday. Didn't she meet up with the Hokage?

Was she out on a mission?

It was possible. Mommy was technically retired, but, really, there was no such thing as a retired ninja. Inactive was probably a better term. She wasn't given any missions unless something came up that required her specific set of skills or just particularly important came up. But what would call for her to leave the village? The only thing important enough to warrant calling on her that happened recently that I could think of was all those people dying yesterday, but I didn't see how she could help with that, other than-

Right, with finding the killer. Duh. Mommy probably had the best sensing abilities in the village, maybe the only one, beyond basic chakra sensing. Pair her up with an Inuzaka, or a Hyūga and you'd have a grade A tacking team.

I just hoped she'd come back okay. Whoever could murder an entire clan in a single night had to be incredibly strong. I knew Mommy was strong too, but… well…

I'd never seen it.

I felt guilty just thinking that, but It was true. I'd only ever seen her at home, and her home life wasn't…

Well…

Anyway, if Mommy wasn't in the village, chances were she's on a mission, so as I went back to the kitchen to eat breakfast, I resigned myself to not seeing her for a few days. When I finished up, I went outside to wander around the village to see if I could find out what happened last night. It wasn't hard, _everyone_ was talking about it.

The Uchiha had been killed. All of them. Every man, woman, and child, all except one. The clan head's youngest daughter, Uchiha Sasuke. No one could really say who did it, though, or why. Not yet, at least. I'm sure once Mommy got back, we'd know who it was. To be honest, I was pretty amazed. The Uchiha were no joke, they were often considered the most powerful clan in the village, and there were many heated debates over who was stronger, them and the Hyūga. For someone to take out every single one of them, even under the cover of night, was seriously impressive. I just wondered why they left Sasuke alive.

We were technically unofficial cousins. I say technically because we've only actually met two or three times, and that was years ago, but for whatever reason, our moms wanted us to be best of friends and set up a few play dates for us. It didn't go so well. I got jealous whenever she got too close to Mommy and, funnily enough, she did the same whenever I got too close to her older brother, Itachi, so we just spent the whole time clinging to our respective partners and glaring at each other. But then I started getting more independent, and Mommy started getting worse, and Aunt Mikoto stopped visiting altogether, so I never saw her again. She probably didn't even remember me. Not that I minded. She was a total brat.

I let out a sigh as I lost interest in the subject, wincing slightly as the ache in my body flared. Nothing interesting would turn up until Mommy returned, so I decided to just go and train. I was halfway to my usual haunting grounds when I halted in my tracks, blinking in realization. That corpse was probably still there. And I really didn't want to get caught hauling it elsewhere, so I turned on my heel to find another place to train.

Five days passed before Mommy returned to the village, and I trained relentlessly in the meantime to mask the creeping loneliness that came from her absence. It's true that I hardly saw her throughout the day, but I still _saw_ her. For her to disappear entirely was… hard. So I distracted myself by breaking trees and shattering rocks (and more than a few bones.) My body still ached with soreness as well. I wasn't sure why, but I could only assume it was a side effect of using the Nine-Tails' chakra. After this long, I was starting to get worried, but I _think_ the soreness was starting to lessen, so I'd wait a little longer until I attempted to bring it up.

I knew the moment when Mommy came back. I'd been periodically checking up on the village with my new sensing abilities ever since she left to see if she'd returned, so when, in the middle of training, I felt her chakra on the very edge of my senses, I stopped everything I was doing as my face broke into a huge grin and I bolted back home. I wanted to head straight for her, but she would be going to the Hokage first for a debriefing, and interrupting would be inappropriate. Despite how much I _didn't care_ , I also didn't think it would go down so well for anyone involved, Mommy included, so I went home to wait for her instead.

I sat down in front of the main entrance, keeping a careful watch on her chakra as she met with the Hokage, a happy smile on my face. My brow furrowed slightly when I noticed something weird about Mommy's chakra. It was… fluctuating strangely. Compressing and pulsing, twisting and warping in strange ways. Then it'd stop for a moment, then start again a short moment later. It reminded me of when I did my chakra meditation, but far more complex and precise. At some point, it stopped completely, and shortly after she started heading my way.

Waiting impatiently as she moved closer and closer, when she finally came into view I shot up to my feet, smiling widely at her.

She looked… beautiful. Breathtaking. But also tired. She was in her Jōnin uniform, which I had never seen her in before. Her long red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, two long strands of hair framing her face, falling past her shoulders. The flak jacket left her arms bare, showing the dirt and mud smeared on her skin. Her head was bowed, not looking where she was going. Her eyes were bruised, she must not have gotten much sleep, and there was dirt smudged across her face.

When she heard me stand, she looked up, and the moment her eyes met mine she visibly winced, stopping in her tracks. My smile faltered somewhat, but I managed to keep it on my face. I so desperately wanted to run into her arms, but I knew doing so just might make it worse. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, apparently steadying herself, then opened them again and looked back at me. Her mouth twisted upward slightly in a sad smile.

"Naruto," she said softly. I smiled wider in response, tilting my head slightly at the way her chakra shifted as she said my name. She raised two fingers and gestured for me to come to her. "Come here, sweetie."

Eyes widening in surprise and blushing at the unexpected endearment, I didn't hesitate to rush forward. I almost thought I was dreaming when she knelt down to catch me and pick me up, but no dream could match the warmth of her arms or the softness of her skin. She wrapped me in a desperate sort of hug and I circled my little arms around her neck, holding her as close as possible. She was shaking slightly, I noticed, and when I heard a small sniff, I realized she was crying. My heart clenched at the thought and I held her tighter, wanting to make her pain go away, but not knowing what I could do.

After what felt like an eternity (yet not nearly long enough,) Mommy pulled away slightly to look at me, wiping tears from her eyes as she did so. "You're all sweaty," she said, her tone deceptively light. "Were you training?"

There it was again. Her chakra was acting weird again, bending and twisting suddenly before stopping abruptly. It was almost like…

I nodded in answer, focusing a bit more on her chakra to try and confirm my theory.

She smiled wider, just a bit. It was such a pretty smile, it made my heart beat faster. "Ah, that's good," she said as she moved into the house with me. "Well… I guess we're both dirty then, huh? Would you like to take a bath together, Musume?"

I smiled at her, both because of the offer and because I was pretty sure I figured out what her chakra was doing. It was talking. Or rather, Mommy was talking with her chakra. It was twisting itself into several distinct, intricate shapes, quickly shifting from one form to another to match each word she spoke.

I just didn't know why. I hadn't felt anyone else do anything remotely like this when they spoke, so it had to be an Uzumaki thing, which made more sense the more I thought about it. No one could naturally sense chakra as well as an Uzumaki could. Had they created their own language just out of shaping their chakra? I certainly seemed possible, and it would be something Mommy learned back in her childhood when she still lived in Uzu. It might have been something she did to remember her old home, even if no one else felt it. Eventually, it would just become a habit.

Realizing I hadn't actually answered her question, I eagerly nodded my head. I made sure to pay close attention to everything else she said from here on out, determined to learn this language of hers.

She chuckled a little at my obvious enthusiasm but headed for the washroom nonetheless, setting me down when she stepped inside. She started undressing me, and then herself, my cheeks burning as she did so, then started washing me. She didn't really need to (not that I minded,) I could do it myself, so I guessed she must have just wanted to.

Mommy was quiet as she sponged down my body. That wasn't exactly unusual, but we rarely took baths together, and when we did it was usually because she was rather… inebriated. And therefore talkative. So having her just sitting there, staring at my body while she scrubbed me down was… weirdly intimate. I felt unreasonably nervous and my heart was pounding even harder than when that Anbu tried to kill me. I couldn't even look her in the eye without my stomach attempting somersaults, and everywhere else was bare skin, so that wasn't much better, and I ended up just awkwardly looking off the side as she touched me, my face beet red.

"Naruto," Mommy said suddenly, startling me slightly. I turned my head to look fully at her, ignoring the way her gorgeous eyes sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. She paused, hesitating, like she was trying to figure how to word whatever she was going to say. "Are… How are classes at the Academy going? Are… you making any friends?"

I blinked. Then I blinked again, wondering once again if I was dreaming. Mommy never showed much interest in my life before, why was she asking now? I mean, it made me ludicrously happy, but I didn't understand what brought it on. I also didn't know how to tell her that I barely attended the Academy and that I wasn't interested in making friends, even if they didn't all think I was some sort of menace, so I just sort of shrugged my shoulders, feeling oddly disappointed that I couldn't give her more.

Mommy's face fell and I felt a painful crushing sensation in my chest. "Oh," she said. "I see."

She fell silent for several long minutes after that and I felt irrationally angry with myself for making her sad, despite that fact I didn't know what else I could have done.

She moved behind me to wash my back, which was simultaneously easier to handle and disappointing. I loved looking at her, no matter how strange it made me feel.

"You… spend a lot of time in the forest," Mommy said suddenly. It wasn't a question, and I found myself surprised she knew that before remembering she could probably sense me as well as I could sense her, maybe even better (it made me wonder why she didn't seem to know I hardly went to my classes, but I discarded it as unimportant.)

"Do you spend all that time training?"

She sounded strangely worried for some reason, but I nodded anyway, turning my head slightly to see her reaction.

She was frowning, and I floundered as I tried to figure out what I said wrong.

"Don't you think that's… a bit much?"

I turned to face her a little more fully, blinking up at her in confusion. I only trained in my free time which was, well, all the time really, but it's not like I had anything else to do.

Mommy stared intensely at me for a moment. I didn't really know why, but it made me blush nonetheless.

Eventually, she just let out a small sigh and said, "Nevermind,"

I felt confused and worried I had upset her even more somehow, but I had no idea how and I pondered it uselessly while she continued washing me.

"There," she said when she finally finished. "All clean. Why don't you go and soak? I'll join you in a moment."

I nodded dutifully, stepping over to the tub and lowering myself into it, letting the hot water wash over me. I sighed in contentment, closing my eyes briefly in to enjoy the feeling before opening them back up and turning to look at Mommy, leaning against the edge of the tub to watch her. It was a little easier now that she wasn't so close. I felt a little perverted just staring at her, but it was worth it just to see her amazing body. Seeing the water trail down her body and the suds stick to her skin as she washed was bliss.

I just wished I could do something about that sad look on her face. The way she stared at nothing, her mind obviously elsewhere, paying only the barest attention to her surroundings. It made my heart ache when I saw her like that.

She did notice me staring eventually, she wasn't paying much attention, but I wasn't exactly being discreet. She smiled at me, a teasing smirk, and puffed out her substantial chest. "See something you like, Musume?"

My blush worsened immeasurably and I sunk into the water down to my nose in a vain attempt to hide my embarrassment.

Mommy laughed, light and airy, and I relished the sound, even if it was caused at my expense. "There's no need to hide. It's not like I mind."

Then her smile faded and her despondent look returned. "Even if I don't deserve it."

I frowned, pulling my head out of the water to look at her. Mommy saw my frown and waved her hands frantically. "Ah, don't mind gloomy old me, Musume. You don't need to bother yourself with-"

I stood suddenly, startling Mommy into silence. Stepping out of the bath, I walked over to her and threw my arms around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug.

"N-Naruto?"

I shook my head, pulling her closer, pressing my body against her in a way that made my blush triple in intensity, but I didn't let go. I rested my head against her shoulder, making myself comfortable as I waited for her to hug me back.

And she did, after a moment. Slowly, tentatively, her arms reached around me to hold me against her, before tightening them. Another moment passed as we embraced, and then Mommy shook as she let out a sob, then another, before devolving into a mess of tears. I held her close as she cried, not daring to pull away, to let her think for a single moment that she was alone.

When, after an indeterminable amount of time, the tears finally slowed and the sobs that racked her body halted, I pulled away, not much, just enough to press my forehead against hers and stare into her violet eyes. I gave her a soft smile and reached up to rest my hands against her face, brushing the last of her tears away with my thumbs. Mommy stared back with sad eyes, one of her hands moving to rest on top of my own. She spoke, hiccuping slightly.

"You're so good to me. Even though I'm… like this," she said, her breath shaky. "I don't deserve you."

I shake my head, denying the statement. She deserves everything I can give and far, far more. It didn't matter how broken she was, I'd do whatever it took to make her whole again.

"I love you so much," she said hopelessly, and I can't stop my heart from skipping a beat at her words even when she says them so miserably, but she continued, her voice increasingly desperate, tears breaking through once again. "Please don't leave me. You're all I have left."

 _Never_ , I thought to myself as I stared into her eyes, wondering if she could see the promise in mine. I closed them a moment later and leaned in slowly, my heart beating furiously, and ever-so-softly pressed my lips to hers.

I felt her go stock-still but I kept still, our lips locked together for a moment, and then another until I felt her body relax and her lips begin to move against mine. So impossibly soft and so wonderfully sweet.

We pulled away from each other moments later, before I could even process the taste. I looked up at her shyly, still in ecstasy, I could only imagine how red my face must have been. She looked similar, her cheeks tinted pink as she brought two fingers up to her lips, her eyes wide in disbelief.

And then she smiled, her eyes lighting up, and I was left breathless because I had never seen her so _alive_.

"So bold," she said softly, but I could _hear_ the happiness in her voice and I'd never loved her more. She looked down at me and I could _see_ the love on her face, clear as the morning sky, and not clouded by endless grief and sorrow. She pulled me close then, wrapping me in another hug, fierce and gentle, filled with care and warmth, and I hugged her back just as passionately.

"Thank you," she said, adoration coating her voice, and I smile wider than I've smiled before because even though I know it won't last forever, that eventually, she'll slip back into her depression, for the first time ever she'd actually _heard_ me, and, maybe, that first step toward healing had finally been taken.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Alright, so I have a much better idea of where I want to take this now, but it's also wildly different from the vague thoughts I had when I started this story. It's part of why I was hesitant to continue this, my stories change drastically as I write them, and since I tend to lean more toward action/adventure mixed with romance than anything else, the tone of this story will be very different from the first few chapters. I just can't keep an emotional roller-coaster going for too long, I much prefer fluffy romance. That can be either good or bad, depending on what you want from this. I'm just telling you up front so you know what to expect.

Also Sasuke's a girl now. That also wasn't part of the plan, originally. Sort of a last minute decision. But with some of the ideas I had, I figured if I'm gonna do them, I may as well go all out, which doesn't really make sense unless you know what I'm planning. Which you don't. So. Yeah. Besides, I've read girl Naruto, and I've read girl Sasuke, but I've not read girl Naruto _and_ girl Sasuke, so this should be fun.


End file.
